Reflection
by PepperVaughn
Summary: After killing Death and releasing the Darkness, Sam and Dean chase down a case in a small California town. With the help of a folklore expert they will do what they do best, hunt.
1. Chapter 1

*Please note: This story is set after S10 Ep23 Brother's Keeper but before S11 Ep1 Out of the Darkness, Into the Fire*

-Chapter 1-

The wind rushed through the low brittle grass in every direction around him. Josh could see his breath coming out in great wisps in front of his eyes as his chest heaved with the effort of breathing. The run through the empty school yard had left his legs burning and he knew he wouldn't be able to take another step.

Spinning his head in every direction, the dry crinkling grass fell silent. No thudding steps of it following him, no sign of it creeping into sight. In the distance a coyote yipped, the sound drifted through the dark sky and over hills in the distance but no other sound followed.

Feeling a bit of relief, Josh scrambled for his phone. His fingers scratched at the denim around his hips in search of the pockets, slipping and fumbling to pull the smooth surface into his hand. Each second felt like hours and he kept pausing to do a 360 search for what he knew was following him. Finally in his grasp he slid his finger across the screen. The photo of Emily, his girlfriend, smiled at him as he pulled up the phone icon. Pushing the first number he saw Josh threw his head up to do another good look.

A scream escaped his lips as his soft brown eyes met their exact match. His own features staring back at him blankly as he jumped back, the phone falling uselessly to the grass as it rang. The first step back sent Josh tumbling to the ground, landing hard on the small of his back. The pain shot up his spine and down his legs while his arms struggled to pull his lanky frame backwards.

The matching lanky figure bent towards the boy, a burst of inhuman speed putting it inches from Josh's face while he blinked. The scream continued ripping from his throat as his own bony fingers gripped his chin tightly. The pressure at the hing of his jaw ached and forced his mouth open. As the monster pulled in a hissing breath Josh felt the scream in him snuff out and the air from his lungs rising, ripping itself out of his gaping mouth. His throat gulped and clinched at the air as it left him but he couldn't fight the suction. As he felt the warm air hit the back of his tongue his vision darkened.

The body went limp in the hands of the creature, the last of his scream echoing in the dark hills. Across the tiny town lights started to flick on. With a final glance at the body, The stone faced Josh that still stood flickered and vanished. The wind, whipping through the grass around Josh's body.

"Josh! JOSH!" a faint voice screamed fuzzily though the tiny phone speaker in the grass at the boy's feet.


	2. Chapter 2

-Chapter 2-

The article seemed pretty unimportant in the grand scheme of things. One seventeen year old boy in California had died. Police were calling it neglect due to the undernourishment and dehydration. The parents had been questioned but the charges had yet to filed. But the whole scenario stuck to the back of Sam's throat.

He read it over and over, looking for something he'd missed even though he knew he hadn't missed a single comma. But the warning lights in his mind were flashing red. Maps of the area showed a few small streets, labeled Sisquoc, nestled ten or twelve miles outside of a small city. The whole of the town could be no more 2 miles across with only a small store, a fire station, and a few houses with wide yards.

As Sam scrutinized the school yard and other sounding area's, heavy footsteps sounded on the polished concert floor of the hall outside of the library.

"Morning, Sammy!" Dean called jovially as he entered the room. Sam glanced up to see him, coffee mug in hand, lopping toward the table. "Don't you sleep?"

"It's 11 o'clock, Dean." Sam replied dryly, eyes returning to the original news article.

"This face needs a certain amount of beauty sleep to maintain." He said matter of factually, a cheeky smirk flashing across his features. With a laugh, Sam let it go. With the mark gone, Dean had finally gone back to a semi normal sleep pattern and with his brother returning to his old standard of health, he could hardly argue.

As Sam switched to another internet tab, attempting to hack into the police reports, Dean cleared his throat impatiently.

"Tinder profile need that much work?"

"Funny. No, I think I got us a case."

"A case? Like a regular case?" Dean sounded slightly annoyed but Sam ignored it, opened the article again, and spun his laptop across the table to his brother.

"Kid abuse is hardly our kind of thing." Dean slid the laptop away from him. "Don't you think that we might have better things to do?"

"Dean-"

"Come on, Sam. The Darkness is loose, and we haven't heard a thing about it. Cas has gone total radio silence, which would be concerning enough, but Crowley is off the radar too."

"You're right, we should be worried about the Darkness. But since we don't know what the Darkness is capable of, what it will look like, where it will show up, Don't you think we should check out any lead? Any thing out of the ordinary." Sam stared Dean down for a few minutes, each attempting to hold their ground against the other.

"Alright, fine." Dean finally conceded. "We'll check it out." It came out as more of a groan as he stood to go pack. "We'll hit the road in an hour?"

"Yeah, sounds good." Sam responded as he snapped the laptop closed.


	3. Chapter 3

-Chapter 3-

"What does the FBI care about this case anyway?" The young police officer asked in a skeptical tone.

"The new administration is very interested in the processing of domestic abuse cases. Trying take care of the kids, you know." Sam said.

"Of course." The officer reply, nodding his head as if he'd know that all along. That was Dean's favorite part about law enforcement, no one knew what they were doing so they all assumed they should have known whatever bullshit they spit out. Always easy to fool a cop.

"Well, if you and Agent Kenning would like to follow me this way, I can take you back to the M.E.'s office."

Dean followed the two of them down the hallway toward the Medical Examiner's office, passing in front of the front desk where a dispatcher was on a call.

"... is ridiculous." The officer rubbed his eyes in exasperation and Dean paused for a moment. "Ms. Asmel, I've told you before that I will not reveal anything about this case to you. But please be assured, there is nothing 'strange' about it. Have a good day." The phone hit the receiver harder then was probably intended.

"Gotta love the cases that bring out the crazies." Dean laughed, leaning against the counter.

"No kidding." The officer laughed back. "Everyone has a conspiracy theory."

"And I've heard them all. My personal favorite at the bureau was the lady who told us that Aliens were actually fairies." Dean watched the officer closely, waiting to see if would be able to get any more information from him. When the officer laughed Dean continued. "What was this one's story?"

"Local Librarian thinks some sort of monster killed that Regin boy. It was a monster alright, his monstrous parents." Dean nodded.

"Yeah, well, some people just don't like to see the truth." With a smug look Dean nodded his goodbye to the officer and moved off down the hall in the direction Sam had went with Officer Ramirez.

Once in the M.E.'s office, Dean helped Sam go through the box of evidence and personal effect that Officer Ramirez had pulled for them. A cell phone with a cracked screen, wallet, and his clothes. The clothes had no rips, no blood, just a few grasses stains on the ass of the jeans.

The autopsy report showed massive malnutrition and dehydration as the article had said, but no injuries inside or outside.

"So say this kid is getting abused by his parents. No food, no water. What are the odds that they aren't hitting him?" Sam asked as Dean attempted to get the cell phone to turn on.

"Slim."

"No signs of physical abuse. A kid this age and size just lets someone slowly starve him? It doesn't make any sense."

"Well, the phone's dead." Dean announced, waving the bagged phone at Sam. "Nothing interesting to be found until we charge it." With a nod towards the door, Dean leads Sam back down the hall to Officer Ramirez desk.

"Agents," he said, setting his burger back down on the desk, "find anything worth your time."

"Maybe." Sam answered. "The report mentioned that the girlfriend was on the phone with him and heard a scream?"

"Yeah, Emily Johnson, but most of Sisquoc heard the scream. I think he was trying to get someone to come help him when he knew he wasn't going to make it any further then the school." Dean and Sam exchanged a glance.

"Mind if we take this and get it charged up? Bring it back after we evaluate it."

"Of course. Anything you need." With a thank you, Dean tucked the phone in his inner jacket pocket.

"Give us a call if anything else comes to light. We're staying at the Buckboard." With a turn, the Winchesters exited the station and headed for the Impala.

"A starving man had the energy to scream?" Dean asked, judgment in his voice. "No. He was screaming at something. Freakin' cops."

"Let's go talk to the girlfriend. She was on the phone, maybe she heard something else."

"Okay, but let's swing by the library first. Heard the Librarian might have a few ideas about what happened." Sam raised his eyebrow but climbed into the car.


	4. Chapter 4

-Chapter 4-

The local library looked new for this area, no more then 10 years old, but was nearly empty. A few older people were slowly typing on the computers. The soft, monotonous click of keys in the otherwise silent building was already beginning to drive Dean insane.

"How can I help you?" A young girl asked, shifting a small stack of books to her hip as she moved out from behind the desk. Her eyes were wide as she took the two hunters in, a faint blush on her cheeks.

"We're looking for Ms. Asmel?" Dean smiled at the girl as he asked. "We were told she was the Librarian here."

"She's upstairs, in the back aisles. You can't miss her." She smiled back, shifting nervously on her feet.

"Thank you." Sam said, heading up the stairs to the left. The girl watched them through the cable railing on the industrial staircase until they were out of sight.

Upstairs, row after row of long bookcases stood from wall to wall. There were a few tables that stood between the stairs and the stacks, but nothing more. No one was reading or researching, just empty chairs. One tabletop was completely covered in books. Some were open, others stacked to the side, and a notebook scribbled with messy writing sat in the center. Glancing around and then back at Sam, Dean gave him a questioning look and Sam shrugged in response.

"Hello?" Sam called out. "We're looking for Ms. Asmel?" For a few seconds they heard nothing. Dean started moving through the tables toward the rows.

"Doctor." A soft voice echoed from the aisles, seeming to come from all of them at once.

"Excuse me?" Dean called back.

"Doctor Lydia Asmel." The voice came back, it felt gentle on Dean's ears, almost calming.

From out of the back row, a figure emerged. She would have been average height, but the black pumps she was wearing added a few more inches. Dean's eyes moved up from the pumps to her shapely legs, curved and wrapped in a pair of black slacks that fit just right. Her maroon button up top was tucked in and bloused out, extenuating her waist. She'd left it unbuttoned at the top, a faint hit of cleavage showing through.

Her face was framed in short chestnut brown hair that was messily curled around her face with tips that just brushed her neck below her chin. Sharp hazel eyes shone out from beneath black framed glasses. Her nose was petite and straight with a slight upturn at the end. Finally, Dean's eyes met her full lips, which were currently pursed tightly.

"Can I help you?"

"Dr. Asmel," Sam said, moving forward from the stairs toward the woman. "I'm Agent Elliot, this is Agent Kenning. We're with the FBI here investigating the Regin case." Recognition crossed her features but were quickly shrouded in suspicion.

"I was told that there was nothing out of the ordinary with the case. Why would the sheriff call you to come assist?" her hand fell to her hips, giving her a very stern look. Dean finally thought she looked like a librarian and the thought made him smile for just a second.

"They didn't call, Doc, we were in the area and wanted to help out." Dean said, but he could see she didn't believe it. "Officer Ramirez said you might have some thoughts on the case." he added quickly.

"Oh, did he?" her arms dropped from his sides and she bustled over to the table full of books. " _Now_ I have something to say worth listening to. The last 3 days it's been: 'it was an accident, Ms. Asmel.' or 'the case is solved, Ms. Asmel.' or 'stop calling, Ms. Asmel.'" She was rambling, her tone high and mocking. With each word she shuffled things around on the table, opening and closing books, moving them into a stack and then moving them to another stack. "Suddenly, I'm worth the FBI's time. Ugh, that man is such a useless, brainless piece of-"

"So, what exactly was it that you wanted the PD to look into?" Dean said with amusement, joining her at the table and skimming the book titles. Some were medical, some where local history, but the rest: Folklore of the Native America's, California Legends, and Eurpean Myths and Magics. Eyebrows raised, he glanced from the corner of his eye at Sam who met his gaze knowingly.

"Josh Regin was not killed by neglectful parents. He was killed by some kind of Monster."


	5. Chapter 5

-Chapter 5-

She didn't wait for them to acknowledge the statement, knowing that if she gave them too much time that they would stop her and walk away.

"No perfectly healthy teenage boy drops dead of starvation in the middle of a field. He was perfectly healthy when he and his girlfriend were making out up here," She motioned to the stacks behind her, "two days before he died. Something got that poor kid, trust me."

Finding it a bit difficult to look the agents in the eye without being distracted by how handsome they were, Lydia had to focus on keeping eye contact and sounding firm. Coming out of the stacks, she had expected any one of the regulars to be standing there but instead was greeted by two tall, fit men in suits.

Agent Kenning, the one with the startling green eyes, kept smiling slightly when she spoke. The effect kept trying to send her spiraling off her thought process but she held her voice firm and controlled. She didn't want them thinking she was some swooning little girl with a crazy theory.

"You said a monster, Doctor," Agent Elliot, the taller one with thick, shoulder length hair said in a friendly tone "if it was a monster what kind of monster do you think it would be?" Lydia paused, frustration escaping her mask.

"I don't know." She admitted with defeat. "I've been trying to narrow it down." The books in front of her had all been useless so far. There were too many options because she had no evidence or testimony to narrow it down. "It could be a lot of things at this point." "Djinn tend to suck their victims dry over time, but Josh would have been missing for a while and he would have had bloodloss." Running a finger down her notes she continued "Chupacabra, Shtriga, Succubus. I need more information to figure it out for sure."

When she looked up from her paper to the agents she caught the tale end of an exchange of glances. Both looked a bit concerned.

"I'm not crazy." She spat out, unable to keep the desperation from her voice. "I have a doctorate in History, I emphasized in Folklore. Hell, I wrote my dissertation specifically on German Folklore. I know that I'm talking about."

"I'm sure you do, Dr. Asmel." Agent Elliot, said gently. "But books on folklore and monsters in real life are very different things."

"Have you ever seen a monster?" Agent Kenning asked, the hand gripping the back of the chair across from Lydia was holding it a little too tightly. Lydia pursed her lips and stared the man down with anger.

"Have you seen an atom, Agent?" She continued to glare at him. "You know they exist, people tell you that they do, but have you seen one yourself? Does not seeing one make it fiction?" No one said anything for a minute, just stared at each other. Lydia glared into the annoyed green eyes of Agent Kenning, his jaw clenching once or twice. Agent Elliot looked between them with amusement before laughing a bit.

"Thank you for your time, Dr. Asmel. We're going to finish up the investigation on this case. If we have any additional questions, we'll let you know." Lydia nodded back to him curtly, her frustration at being blown off again was swelling in her chest.

"Here's my cell number." Agent Kenning held out a small card. "If anything else comes up, let us know." Glancing down at the card and then back to Kenning's intense gaze she sighed, feeling her resistance deflate.

"Thank you." She said, reaching out for the card. Her fingertips brushed agents his fingers as she took it and she shivered slightly at the touch of his skin. "Good luck, with the case. I'll be here if you need me, I'm always here late." With a nod, both men turned to leave, heading down the stairs and out of her sight.

Exhaling, Lydia sank into the chair she's been standing beside. Taking off her glasses she rubbed her temples lightly, eyes closed as she went through each step of that conversation again.

"Lydia?" Sara's voice called up the stairs. The teenage part timer poked her head up through the railing. "What was that all about?"

"Nothing, Sara." She called back, "just me making a fool of myself in front of two ridiculously good looking FBI agents. The usual." She finished more to herself as Sara returned to the front desk.


	6. Chapter 6

-Chapter 6-

Sam felt a little bit bad for the way they'd shut down Dr. Asmel as he climbed in the car. He'd been trying to be gentle, but Dean had taken the more rude route. She'd handled pretty well though, he thought.

The engine roared and they took off out down the canyon road out of Santa Maria and into Sisquoc where the crime had taken place. After 5 minutes of silence Sam decided to bring the Library incident up.

"She was right." He turned only slightly to look at Dean. "About it being a monster."

"Yeah, and if we'd let her think she was right she would have gotten herself in trouble chasing after something she can't handle."

"She knew the lore-"

"Lore will only get you so far, she'd get herself killed." The aggravation in Dean's voice was telling.

"And that bothers you," Sam smirked as he said "because she's hot."

"It bothers me because we're supposed to protect people." Dean snapped, then glanced at Sam out of the corner of his eye. "And she's very hot. Got that whole sexy librarian thing going on."

"Never pegged you for the librarian thing."

"Every guy has a librarian thing. It's instinctual." Sam barked out a laugh.

Dean smirked as he drove, seeming far away before he cleared his throat.

"Alright, tell me what we know about the girlfriend." He looked at Sam, glancing occasionally at the bending road.

"Emily Johnson, Seventeen, lives with her single Dad. Josh called her right before the attack, she heard the phone hit the ground and Josh scream, that's all the report lists."

"Address?"

The house seemed run down, just a squat two bedroom with peeling paint and crumbling stucco. The yard was large, encircling the house, with no fence. They knocked on the door and waited for some sign that someone was home. After a few minutes the deadbolt creaked open and the door swung open a few inches. A teenage girl with blond hair peeked out. Her face was red and swollen from crying and she looked like she hadn't slept.

"Emily? I'm Agent Kenning, this is Agent Elliot. Where with the FBI. Can we ask you a few questions about Josh?" Fresh tears filled her eyes as Dean asked to come in and Sam gave her a gentle smile. The girl opened the door the rest of the way without a word and stepped aside for them to come in. Once the door was closed she led them to the spartan living room and motioned for them to sit down on the sagging couch.

"We're sorry, for your loss." Sam said gently. "Can you tell us about the call you received.

"Like I told the police, He called at nearly Eleven Thirty that night." She stared at the arm of the couch, not meeting either of their gazes. "It was late and he had to work early so I sort of assumed something was wrong. When I picked up I heard this.. I don't know... thud. And Josh was screaming." Sam watched her swallow a few times, fighting sobs.

"He screamed and screamed and then it just sort of stopped. I could hear him choking and..." Emily paused again, hand at her throat as if in pain. "And then there was just silence. I hung up and called the police right afterwards." Tears slid down her face.

"Before that night, had Josh said anything strange, had you noticed anything?"

"No, he- Well, he said he'd been seeing things. But he just said he needed to sleep. He left my house early that day to get some rest."

"Did he say what sort of things?" Sam pushed.

"No.. just that he was over tired. What would that matter anyway?" Emily snapped a little.

"Just have to be very thorough." Sam smiled reassuringly.

"Thank you, for your time, Emily." Dean said, standing and straightening his jacket. "We appreciate all your help." She nodded at them and they let themselves out of the house. Once in the car and on the road back to Santa Maria, where their motel was, Dean turned to Sam.

"Let's get this phone plugged in back at the motel, then tonight we can go check out the school where the body was found."

"Sounds good." Dean responded, watching the brown hills slid by the window.


	7. Chapter 7

-Chapter 7-

With the phone charging, Dean decided that they should head back out to the school yard to scope out the scene. There had to some sort of evidence left behind that they could use. As the drove back to the four street town, the sun set behind the distant mountains, making it darker much sooner. There were no lights on the canyon road, leaving them with flashes of the dirt shoulder as the Impala's lights drifted down the road.

They rolled to the school parking lot, if you could call it that, and noticed immediately that it was deserted. Dean pulled as close the school yard as he could get and turned the engine off.

The chain link fence around the the field was nearly invisible in the dark, making it seem like the school yard and the open land behind it where one expanse. A dirt oval track was beside the canyon road and the rest of the field was trampled brown grass. It didn't take too long for Dean and Sam to walk the perimeter of the field, scanning with flashlights for anything in the grass that would tell them something about the case. Nothing stood out, just ant hills and gopher holes.

"There's nothing out here, man." Dean said tiredly. "Let's head back."

"Dean." Sam said with urgency as they round on the last side of the yard, closest to the school buildings. Motioning with his light while pulling his 9mm from his waistband.

Dean turned in the direction Sam was looking, seeing a shape in the distance, against the back end of one of the buildings.

In the dim moonlight, Dean could see a shape slumped against one of the buildings. Pulling out his .45mm, Dean started moving quickly and quietly toward the shape, Sam moving in sync behind him.

Against the blue-gray stucco wall of the school, a body was slumped. The head was dropped down, back against the wall and legs sprawled out in front of them. As they got closer they could see long blond hair hanging down over the body's face. The clothes were hanging off the body, even from a few feet away Dean could tell they were too big for the frame.

"Emily." Sam whispered and he moved in front of Dean to check the girl for a pulse. Dean put his weapon down, glancing around for any sign of attack before looking back at the body. Sam didn't find a pulse and the teenage girl that they had seen only hours ago was withered away to nothing.

"She's still warm." Sam said sadly, standing up to his full height. "Must have happened not long ago." With a sad nod Dean turned to survey the surrounding area again. As he turned his eyes met with the stony-eyed face of Emily Johnson, standing suddenly in front of him.

"Sam!" Dean grabbed his brothers attention and brought his gun up to aim at the girl. The body flickered and vanished before appearing only inches in front of him, face suddenly clouded with rage. It gave a howl before throwing Dean to the side. He landed hard on the dirt, loosing his breath for second.

Before he could stand, Sam fired several rounds into the ghost, not doing any real damage but it's form flickered and shuddered as the bullets ripped through it. With another guttural howl, it turned to face the canyon road. It's eyes appeared to catch something of interest before it looked back at the the brothers and vanished. The howl echoed through the yard before fading away, leaving only the sound of the boys panting.

"Ghost." Sam said, lowering his gun.

"Apparently." Dean answered back, getting up. "But she got vengeful and crazy awful fast."

"I don't think it was her. It hasn't been enough time for her to go that loopy."

"Sure looked like her." Dean grumbled, picking him self up off the ground and dusting himself off.

"I just don't think she could go vengeful that quickly." Sam said, putting his gun away and pulling out his phone. "I'm going to call the PD."

"I'm going to go grab some iron from the car." Sam nodded at Dean and he turned and walked back to the front of the school and the impala. As he turned around the last building and the car came into view Dean pulled his gun, seeing a person leaning against the driver's side door. As he moved closer a pair of black framed glasses caught the moon light and Dean recognized the curled hair.

Lydia was leaning against his car, arms crossed, glaring across the parking lot at him.

"Crap."


	8. Chapter 8

-Chapter 8-

"What are you doing here?" Agent Kenning asked her, sounding more shocked then angry.

"Who the hell are you?" Lydia snarled back. "That thing, that ghost, you knew what it was! You were out here looking for it." She was yelling.

"Stop, just stop yelling." He sounded exasperated and it was more frustrating to her than if he'd been angry. He finally approached her, reaching out and taking her elbow to lead her back to her car, parked behind the vintage car that he drove. "Go back to the library."

"Don't you tell me what to do!" She ripped her arm out of his grasp, spinning on him. "You aren't even a real FBI agent. You don't have any right to tell me what to do!" She jabbed him in the chest with each word, trying hard not to think about how firm and muscular his chest felt under her finger.

"You're right. Okay, you're right. Just," He reached out again, taking both of her arms in his hands and holding her out at arms length. "go back to the library, I will be right behind you and I will explain everything. It's not safe for you to be out here."

"And it's safe for you?" She was still yelling, anger filled every part of her. He'd lied to her, used her for information, made her feel like an idiot, and now he was ordering her around like she was 4 years old.

"We know what we're doing, you don't." He sighed. "I will follow you back and we can talk all of this out but you have to leave." She glared at him, waiting for the right words to come to her.

"Please." He added. He's eyes held a look of genuine concern and she faltered for just a moment.

"Fine. But I swear if you don't show up with in ten minutes of me parking my car I'm calling the cops and telling them you're a fraud. Got it?"

"Got it." He said.

Still angry, Lydia walked purposefully around his black car and to the driver side of her own Volkswagen. Slamming the door, she ripped out of the parking lot, seeing the former agent pull his phone out of his leather jacket and hold it to his ear before getting in the car.

She speed down the canyon road, her thoughts a swirling vortex of anger, confusion, and victory. She had been right. Ghosts were real, and if ghosts were real, so was any number of the other things she'd studied. But these men had lied to her about who they were, used a fake rank to get her to feel comfortable enough to tell them her theory, and then made her feel like the village idiot.

"He blinded me with those stupid green eyes and that straight jaw and..." She trailed off, realizing she was yelling at her steering wheels as she pulled up to Santa Maria and turned toward Broadway. "I'm so stupid."

Whipping her car into her assigned spot in the parking lot she threw the door open and slammed it promptly shut behind her. Her hands were shaking and it caused her to struggle with the lock on the door. She'd only just unlocked the door and shut the alarm off when the roar of his engine drifted into the lot and he parked beside her car.

He got out of the car calmly, lopping up the stairs to her at his own pace. Her rage reignited as she realized what little effect her anger was having on him.

"Take your time." she said with a growl, heading up the stairs to her desk by the stacks. Not bothering to turn the lights on as she went, the emergency running lights on the stairs and upstairs walls were giving off enough dim light to get up to her desk. Dropping her purse unceremoniously she spun on the stairs and crossed her arms, waiting for him to get up the last few.

"So?"

"So." He snapped back, seeming a combination amused and annoyed.

"Is Kenning even your real name."

"No, I'm Dean. You also met my brother Sam." The word brother threw her off guard for moment, they hadn't really looked like brothers. As she sorted through that thought Dean continued.

"We're hunters. Monster hunters."

"And yet you spent your whole visit here to convince me that I was crazy." She was yelling again, she felt in her throat more than she heard it.

"Yeah, I did. To keep you out of the way."

"Out of the way! I have spent years of my life familiarizing myself with the lore. I'm a big girl, I could take care of myself."

"Like hell you could. That ghost would have dropped you in seconds."

"Well thank God that you were here to save me." she mocked, throwing her hands up in praise. "You don't even know me. How are you supposed to know that you can save me from something when you weren't even sure what it was?" She was trying to upset him, poking at the fact that they'd be trying to get her to tell them what kind of creature they were hunting.

"I know that you followed us out there in heels! How smart can you be to go traipsing out in the boonies looking for monsters in five inches heels!" She knew he was just trying to do the same thing she was, bait her, but it hit home all the same. She felt her face flush with fresh anger.

"You chauvinistic, egotistical, meat-head!" She was stomping over to him, closing the gap between them with her fists clinched.

"That's rich, coming from a spoiled, mouthy,know it all!" Dean growled back at her, his voice dropped low as he said it and a switch in Lydia flipped.

Grabbing his shirt in her hands, she pulled him against herself, one hand winding around the back of his neck to pull his mouth down to hers. Crashing her lips against his aggressively she inhaled the scent of leather and soap coming off of him and let out a soft moan against his mouth. His lips turned up in a smirk and he wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her even tighter against him.


	9. Chapter 9

*** Please be aware, this Chapter contains sexual content***

-Chapter 9-

Her hands slid up his chest to this jacket, pushing both his leather jacket and button up off his shoulders. He took his arm off of Lydia's waist and she missed the contact immediately but once he's shaken off his top layers his arm wrapped around her again, the other moving up to tangle itself in her hair.

He held her tightly against his chest, his lips moving firmly and roughly against hers constantly. She fought to keep the upper hand in that moment, sliding her tongue against his lower lip before pulling it between her teeth and nipping gently. She could feel him groan, his chest vibrating against hers and the grip on her hair tightened slightly before he slid his hands to the buttons of her top. He worked quickly, never loosing contact with her lips and as he pushed the top off of her shoulders to the floor she felt the rough callouses on his fingers.

The feeling of his skin, scolding against her own had the ache in her belly throbbing and she turned him with her body, pushing him against her desk. Her hands moved down then back up under his t-shirt. The toned muscle of his stomach met her fingers and she felt him flinch slightly, tensing as he prepared for her to move upward.

The t-shirt met the rest of their clothes on the floor and she pushed Dean down onto the desk so that he was sitting before climbing up to straddle his hips. His hands found her thighs gripping at them tightly as he tried to take control of the kiss. As his fingers slid up, finding the button on her slacks she started to slip, letting him gain the dominance in the kiss. He smiled against her lips as it happened, chuckling in his throat and Lydia felt her muscles clinch in excitement at the sound.

As his boots and pants hit the floor she laid him back, trailing hot kisses down his neck and chest to his hip bones. She felt his muscles flexing as she moved and he groaned again. Sitting up, she pushed her hips down against him. He's eyes were bright with lust and she smiled down at him confidently.

He moved quickly, arms wrapping around her waist as he lurched forward. Pressing him against her he spun around and settled her on the desk. Suddenly looking up at Dean, Lydia growled at the sudden loss of dominance but as he removed the rest of her clothes and left her bare in front of him she no longer cared. She watched his gaze drift over her and his smirk returned.

As the last piece of his own clothing hit the floor he gripped Lydia's hips and pulled her against him. She moaned as soon as they made contact, his skin burning against her own. A deep moan slipped through her lips as he pushed into her, her eyes fluttering closed as they found a rough rhythm.

He stayed close to her, skin to skin as much as possible. His mouth finding her collarbone, neck, ear, and then finally her mouth. The kiss was powerful, each breathing against each other hard as she felt the coil inside of her tightening.

The smell of leather and soap engulfed her and she held tightly to Dean's back, fingertips digging into his shoulder blades. She heard his moans as much as she felt them and her throat tightened around a moan as she felt the coil ready to snap.

"Dean," she moaned out, mouth pressed into his neck and he pulled her closer, lifting her off the desk and wrapping his arms around her bare back. As she pressed back against him she felt herself tip over the edge, her moans ripping from her throat. Dean followed her over the edge his fingers gripping at her ribs as he panted against her hair.


	10. Chapter 10

-Chapter 10-

Sam waited around the backside of the building until the SMPD pulled up to the school.

"Agent Elliot," it was Officer Ramirez, greeting him as he climbed out of his car. "Where's you partner?"

"Oh, he left here to follow a hunch. Mind if I catch a ride to my room after all this?" Sam asked, motioning behind him to where they could find the body of the young girl. He fought to keep the annoyance off his face, hiding his frustration at being left without a car. Dean had said he'd be gone twenty minutes tops, but that was nearly half an hour ago and Sam got the impression he wasn't going to be seeing his brother any time soon.

"Yeah, course. Now, Ms. Johnson's body?" Sam led the officers back to the school.

"Did you see what happened? Anyone else out here?" Ramirez asked as he started looking around at the body and surrounding area.

"No. We came out to do a sweep of the scene and found her against the building as we hit our last leg."

"She's all sickly, like the Regin kid." Sam nodded, hands in his pockets. With his brows furrowed he was still trying to come up with a convincing lie as to what could have caused the girl to starve just like her boyfriend. Nothing had seemed good enough to work all the way up until the time that the officers pulled up.

"She must off stopped eating after his death. Poor thing." Ramirez finished, standing and dusting his pants off.

"Yeah," Sam's jaw dropped before he pulled himself together and nodded. "Must be what happened..."

"The boys," Ramirez motioned to the other four officers that had pulled up in two other cars "they'll finish up here. Why don't I take you back?"

The car ride was quiet, just the occasionally tinny voice of the police radio. Sam tried not to say much, his discomfort at being in a police cruiser swelling up in his chest.

"So, you and your partner, you guys travel for other cases like this? On the road a lot?"

"All the time." Sam said a little bitterly. "There's always a case to look into." He added, trying to recover.

"Must be tough, motel living." Sam gave a nod of agreement and continued staring ahead.

"What sort of hunch was Agent Kenning after, anyways?"

"Not sure, he didn't really say. Happens sometimes. He just vanishes on a tangent." It was occurring to Sam that Ramirez appeared to fishing for some sort of information.

"Got it. Partners, am I right?" Ramirez chuckled.

"Yeah." Sam forced a chuckled back, seeing the sign for the motel a block up. "Well, thanks for the ride. We'll check in with you soon on the case."

"Sounds good. Goodnight, Agent." Closing the door behind him Sam walked casually to his room, planning out all of the things he was going to tell Dean about leaving him to a car ride with a nosy cop for night with the librarian.


	11. Chapter 11

-Chapter 11-

Dean pulled away from Lydia, still catching his breath and glanced down at where she had settled back on the desk. Her skin was flushed and warm and her short hair fanned out around her. Her eyes met his and she smiled. Not being able to help himself he smiled back at her. Leaning down, he placed a firm kiss against her swollen lips and then pulled away from her, searching the floor for his clothes.

As he pulled his jeans and t-shirt back on, Lydia had located her bra and panties. She was pulling her blouse over her shoulders as she moved around the desk.

"So, a monster hunter." She said, muffled as she dug in a desk drawer, "How does one get into that line of business?" With her question, she set a bottle of Irish whiskey on the desk and two low ball glasses. Dean laughed at the drink before grabbing the bottle and pouring out two generous glasses.

"I figured we should work backwards." Lydia said, raising an eyebrow as she took one of the glasses. With a clink she toasted his and took a sip.

"Honestly, we started as kids. Family business you could say." Dean's thoughts drifted over his mother and father, motel rooms and vending machine food.

"Tough childhood." Lydia gave a sad smile. Dean took a large sip of his whiskey, feeling the smooth flavor on his tongue just before the burn of the alcohol hit the back of his throat.

"And how'd you end up in this town? Seem too smart for a place like this."

"I was born here, left for college and came back when my Dad got sick."

"Sorry." Dean said before clearing his throat. "How's he doing?"

"He died. 6 months ago." Lydia took a long slow sip of drink and cleared her throat. "I'm working on building the courage to leave." She said it with a dark sense of humor and laughed a little into her whiskey. Dean's mouth turned down a bit as he recognized the humor as a mask, one he was familiar with. But he let the expression fade quickly as she moved on to ask him about Sam.

Dean had poured Lydia and himself a third glass and the questions had moved from introductions to jokes and laughing. The whiskey had turned her cheeks a bit pink, but her behavior didn't appear to be that affected by the liquor. He hadn't bothered to mention that she had never finished dressing, he was enjoying the flashes of skin that showed through her unbuttoned top when she moved, her bare thigh brushing against his denim covered leg as they talked.

When his phone rang, the sound made her jump and he chuckled at her reaction before excusing himself to answer the phone.

"Dean, where are you?" Sam said, annoyed, before Dean could even say hello.

"The library." he answered, looking over at Lydia as she sat drinking at her desk. "Doing some research."

"The car ride with the cop was great, thanks for asking."

"Sorry, Sammy." Dean rolled he's eyes. "I'll leave you the car next time, cross my heart."

"Yeah, sure. The phone is charged, I went through Josh's texts his emails and I wasn't finding anything. So I went through his pictures. Get this, he took several pictures of himself the day he dead."  
"That's a thing the kids are doing now a days, Sammy. I think they call them selfies."

"He wasn't taking selfies, Dean." Sam snarled into the phone. Dean knew he was pushing his luck, what with leaving him at the school with a dead body. "They were pictures of him from far away, like he was watching himself."

"Like a shapeshifter. And a ghost." Dean rubbed his eyes. "So Emily's ghost, wasn't Emily's ghost, she just looked like her." Sam started to say something but in the background he could hear Lydia.

"She just looks like her." She said quietly. Dean turned to look at her, she was staring off towards the stacks.

"She just looks like her!" She said again, this time loudly, before taking off towards the stacks.

"Hold on, Sammy." Dean took the phone away from his ear. "Lydia, what are you thinking?"

"I'm pretty sure I know what this is! Hold on, let me..." She trailed off. The sounds of books coming off of shelves met Dean's ears.

"Sam, I'm coming to get you. I think she's on to something." Dean hung up the phone and moved to the head of the aisle that Lydia had disappeared into.

"I'm going to go, Sam and I will be back and you can tell us what we've found. I'll probably pick some food up on the way back."

"Oh, go to the burger place on Broadway. I'll take an order of chili fries, no onions!" She said, still pulling out books and stacking them in her arms.

"Sure." Dean laughed and headed for the stairs. "And, sweetheart," he called over his shoulder. "you might want to put on some pants before we get back." As he headed down the stairs he heard her laughing.


	12. Chapter 12

-Chapter 12-

After dumping a stack of books on the table, Lydia had pulled the rest of her clothes on, turned on the overhead lights and settled into a chair to go over her theory. The fact that the monster looked like it's victim. That's what Dean had said on the phone. If it moved like a ghost and looked like the victim it seemed to match a Doppelgänger.

When she'd worked on her dissertation, the German Doppelgänger had been a large portion of her paper. She was embarrassed that she hadn't thought of it before. The lore books all open to the appropriate pages, Lydia skimmed for any variations. A Doppelgänger was an omen of death or sickness, depending on who witnessed it. If her creature was, in fact, a Doppelgänger then it wasn't so much that seeing yourself meant that you would die soon of random causes, but that it would kill you soon.

What Lydia couldn't understand was the advantage of changing into the victim. A camouflage tactic, or a way to confuse and slow the victim. It seemed to change into that person before it killed them since Josh was taking photos of himself. As this thought floated through Lydia's mind it occurred to her that they could prevent any further attack if the were able to ID the next victim by finding the Doppelgänger and then protecting who it turned into.

The thought that she was the only one who know what it was and how to find out who the next victim was spurred her into sudden action. Grabbing her purse and phone off her desk she down the stairs and out the door before her mind fully recognized what her body was doing. After locking the library, she pulled out her phone and the card Dean had handed her at their first meeting.

Dean, it's Lydia. Doppelgänger. Headed to Sisquoc to figure out next victim.

After hitting send, Lydia jumped into her car and pulled out of the parking lot, speeding off towards the school yard.

The drive was nerve wrecking, she kept waiting to see a person on the road, stone faced and vacant. But there were no pedestrians or cars, just the dark rode in the light of the late night moon.

It wasn't until she pulled into the school that Lydia started to feel silly. How was she supposed to find the Doppelgänger in the middle of the night with no evidence or leads? And if she did, what would she do? There were no bones to salt and burn, as was the custom with ghosts, no personal objects. A Doppelgängerhad none of the normal methods of destroying.

Lydia stood in the dark of the parking lot, chewing her lip. The cold wind rustled her hair and whipped through her thin blouse. This was stupid. She should get back in her car and wait for Dean. She could text him where she was at and him and his brother would come here and know what to do. With a half turn, Lydia moved to get back into her car when her eyes caught something over her car roof. Across the main canyon road, staring at her, was herself.

Vacant hazel eyes met her own terrified ones. It was her same height, same shape, it even wore the same outfit and high heeled shoes. Lydia gripped the open door of her car and her knuckles turned white, staring across the canyon road at herself. The wind moving her hair in front of her eyes and the Doppelgänger's hair moved in a reflection of her own.


	13. Chapter 13

-Chapter 13-

Instinct to protect herself clicked into Lydia's mind. Without higher thought, Lydia threw herself into her car and closed the door, clicking the lock. Her hands shook and she couldn't get the key into the ignition lock, just kept scratching it uselessly against the side of the stirring column.

As she struggled with the lock she kept turning to look out of the passenger window, seeing the Doppelgänger standing, motionless, across the wide road.

"Come on, come on, come on!" she yelled at herself, forcing her eyes away from the creature and onto the ignition. With full focus, she was able to jam the keys into the lock and start the engine. The rumble gave her a feeling of safety as she threw the car into drive and peeled out of the school lot. The sound of her tires echoed through the town behind her.

With the Doppelgänger to her left, towards home, she turned to the right, away from it and towards the vineyards. The road would loop around and she would be spit back out on the freeway that headed back to Santa Maria. In the rear view, she could see the creature move. It took a few steps forward and then flickered sharply and vanished. Lydia held her breath, pushing on the accelerator forcefully. Alarm bells were flashing in her mind but a single thought broke the chaos. She had to call Dean. She had to tell him it looked like her. She had to tell him where she was going. He was the only weapon she had against this. There was nothing she could do to keep herself from being killed.

Scooping her phone up from the center console, Lydia pulled up the text she'd sent and touched the contact to dial. As the phone rang, she continued to push her speeds to the limit of the curving canyon road. The houses had been left behind and she was once again alone on a two lane stretch.

"Lydia, where are you?"

"Dean! It's me. The Doppelgänger has changed to me." Her voice sounded breathless, panicked. It almost hurt to talk, her throat constricting with fear.

"Damn it." He yelled, the sound of his engine accelerating reached the phone speaker. "Where are you?"

"Driving, went through Sisquoc on Foxen Canyon. I- I just passed the vineyard entrance."

"Okay, listen to me. We're coming to you. Just keep moving, stay on the phone with Sam. I'm coming." There was some muffled movement on the line.

"Lydia," It was Sam, sounding calm and confident. "Do you see it anywhere?"

"I can't look." Her voice came out sounding childish. She was frozen, her eyes would not move away from the road in front of her.

"You have to." Sam said. "Look around and tell me what you see."

Without conscious choice, Lydia allowed her eyes to flicker to the sides, glancing out the windows on her left and right. There was nothing to her left but vineyards and nothing to her right but the tree covered hillside. Looking up to the rear view mirror Lydia's breath caught in her throat. She as staring at herself. The Doppelgänger's mouth opened and growled from the backseat, causing Lydia to scream and slam on the breaks.

Her hand dropped the phone and she was using both hands to pull the door open. As she got out she stared at the car, watching the Doppelgänger stare at her. Her body turned away from the car and she was running down the road, slow and unstable on her heels. She kept running the direction she'd been driving putting distance between herself and the creature. She ran until her ankle faltered and she hit the ground hard on her knees and palms.

Cursing, she reached back and ripped her useless shoes from her feet and struggled to pull herself up. The cold air stung her throat and the tightness of her chest kept her from taking a full breath. She was useless out here, and unarmed. For a second she looked around, hopeless. The only thing up a head besides vacant farmland was the Chapel.

"Holy ground." The thought dawned on her. She could trick the creature, or at least get to a safe place. But it was half a mile down the road and she was on foot. She pushed the negativity away and moved forward, continuing to run. The rough asphalt cut into her feet. She knew she'd be bleeding but she had to keep moving forward or she'd die.


	14. Chapter 14

-Chapter 14-

"Lydia? Lydia, what's happening?" Sam asked into the receiver, feeling Dean look at him out of the corner of his eye. He'd heard the crash through the phone's speaker and the sound of Lydia screaming. He'd also heard tires squealing. None of those sounds were good. He didn't bother to stay on the phone knowing that she was no longer on the line.

"Drive." He said to Dean's questioning gaze before hitting the end button. Dean said nothing in response, just stared straight ahead and pushed the Impala around the curves of the road.

After a few miles in the dark, Sam saw the sign for the vineyard up ahead. The reflective tape with a 1 mile marker shone in the headlights.

"She should be up here." Sam muttered through his teeth. He could feel the tension radiating off of Dean, not to mention his own feels of helplessness.

"What the hell was she even doing out her, man?" Dean said, still staring straight ahead. "She had to know that coming out here was a sure fire way to get killed." The tone of his brother's voice became tighter, more aggressive, and Sam forced his eyes to stay on the road up ahead for any sign of Lydia or her car.

"I told her that she didn't know what she was doing. I told her this was dangerous." Dean slammed his hands on the stirring wheel as they passed the vineyard tasting house on the left side. Dean's jaw twitched as he clinched his teeth.

There was a splash of red reflecting off the road as they turned the next corner. Dean slowed as he saw it and rolled around the corner carefully. Not far from the curve was Lydia's Volkswagen, parked in the middle of the lane, driver's door open. Dean threw the Impala into park and was out his door before they had fully stopped. Sam followed behind him, approaching the open Sudan with trepidation. He expected to look through the drivers open door and see Lydia, drained and withered, but when he came to stand beside Dean, he saw the empty driver's seat, phone laying in on the floor.

"She got away." Sam said with relief.

"But for how long?" Dean growled. He started to move up the road while Sam climbed into the Volkswagen. Flipping a u-turn on the quiet road, Sam parked Lydia's car on the right shoulder, turning the hazards on before turning off the car entirely and pocketing the keys.

"Sam!" Dean yelled from the darkness, his voice echoing slightly off the hillside. Sam ran off into the darkness in the direction Dean had been walking. About half a mile up the road Dean was staring down at a pair of black pumps.

"I told her these shoes were useless." Dean laughed, but it was darkly. "Have to say, she made it further on them then I would have thought."

"She's running on bare feet, Dean. We'll be able to catch up to her now. Dean nodded, scooping up the heels off the ground. With a final glace into the surrounding farmland, Sam and Dean jogged back to the Impala, throwing it into drive with hope that they still had a chance to catch up with the barefooted woman. As the engine roared, Sam searched the road for any sign of her.

"Where could she be headed?" He asked quietly.


	15. Chapter 15

-Chapter 15-

Each breath of air felt like knives in her lungs and Lydia was starting to think she'd have to come to a stop. Occasionally she'd look around to catch a glimpse of the Doppelgänger watching her, motionless, from several feet away. Each time she saw the murderous version of herself Lydia felt bile rise up in her throat and she would have to tear her eyes away and force herself to keep running.

Turning another bend, Lydia spotted the San Ramon Chapel up on the hill to her right. The white church building glowing in the moonlight on the hill far above the road. Her legs shook and she struggled to move as she headed for the driveway. She was nearly to the uphill gravel road that would lead her up to the centuries old church and graveyard when she had an sudden, clear thought. If she went up the hill here, the Doppelgänger would almost certainly see the church and stay away, bidding time. While she'd be safe, any chance she had of ending this would be left standing just outside of the holy ground. Never mind that she wasn't even sure if Holy ground would work at all, it was her only chance.

Turning, she started to move past the church, wanting to come up on the other side of if, where the Chapel itself would be hidden behind trees and only the graveyard would be seen. Most of the old headstones were moss covered ruins, crumbling and broken and many weren't standing at all, leaving no markers in the grass.

The first step after stopping at the bottom of the driveway had been difficult, her muscles shook and her knees refused to support her weight for a second. She could feel the rough terrain under her sore feet, but the pain felt distant and she forced her tired body to keep moving. She ran another 500 feet down the road before veering right into the weeds. Each step forward into the field left scratches and thorns in the skin of her legs but she pushed forward, coming to the base of the hillside that San Ramon was set on.

The hill was steep and Lydia fell to her hands and knees as she worked her way up the side. Cursing, she pulled herself up to a narrow cow path, only wide enough for her to walk one foot in front of the other, still bent slightly forward against the slop of the path. Stumbling and falling, Lydia made it to the top of the hill, her fingernails cracked and sore from pulling herself up to the church yard and she knew she wouldn't be able to start running again. Tripping in the dark she headed straight for the graveyard, only to bump her hands into a chain link fence.

"DAMN IT!" Lydia screamed, pounding her hands against the fence in frustration. Tears stung at her eyes and she spun around, pressing her back to the fence.

The Doppelgänger was standing right behind her, only a foot or so space between them, staring at her blankly. It stared for a long moment and Lydia stared back in terror before the Doppelgänger opened it's mouth and let out a growl. It waved a hand as if to backhand Lydia and she felt herself lift off the ground. Her back hit the chain link hard and the fence bent around her. Lydia screamed, feeling the structure give and she was falling through air. The ground came up hard underneath, hitting against her back. Her head bounced and she felt it make contact with something hard and cold. The crack of it against her skull caused stars to dance across her vision and another choked scream escaped her throat.

Everything was a daze, she couldn't fully see, couldn't fully hear. She felt as though her head was full of cotton. Her limbs were tired and sore, screaming at Lydia to stay still and let them rest. Her spinning head forced her to agree and she allowed herself to relax, her body melting into the cold ground below her.

A voice, tiny and weak, in the back of her mind urged her up. She wasn't safe. She had to get up and keep moving. Can't stop moving. But she was so tired.

A loud crack split the air, forcing it's way through the cotton in Lydia's head so that she heard it. The small voice got louder, She wasn't safe. She had to get up. Another crack shook her mind and then another. Lydia forced her eyes open and she could see the sky, stars shining through tree branches above her. At the bottom of her line of sight she started to see red, flashing like moving.

It took so much effort, but she rolled her heavy head to the side and she could see herself. She was burning, the fire wrapped around her legs, white hot where her pumps met the ground and moving up towards the sky. Her mouth was open but the screams that came out were deep, gravelly roars as it burned. Suddenly, the fire grew larger and brighter before disappearing entirely. The other version of herself no longer standing above her.

There was a feeling of relief and Lydia let her eyes drift back to the stars before closing.

"...dia" A voice pushed through the cottony filling. "Lydia." It was deep, masculine, familiar. Lydia forced her eyes open again, struggling to focus the fuzzy image leaning over her. Green eyes, strong jaw shaded in stubble, a worried frown. Dean.

"I'm dead, aren't I?" Lydia croaked out, the sounding hurting her ears as much as the strain hurt her dry throat. Above her, Dean laughed darkly.

"Not quite.


	16. Chapter 16

-Chapter 16-

Dean scooped the barely conscious Lydia off the ground as gently as possible. Her slacks were torn and snagged below the knee and her bare feet were bleeding. Where her head had hit the grave maker she had a deep gash, and probably a concussion. The creature had thrown her onto holy ground, and stopped when it realized it could no longer reach her. The force of a few shotgun blasts had pushed it on to the church grounds just enough to light it up. Lydia had been smart but, more than that, she'd been lucky.

"Sammy, can you get the car?" Dean glanced over his shoulder at his brother as he lifted the girl off the ground. With a curt nod, Sam went back down the cow path to the Impala. As the engine roared back to life Dean headed toward the chapel and the parking lot at the top of the driveway.

"Dean-" Lydia started but cut off with a pained breath pulled between her teeth.

"You're okay. We're going to take you to the hospital."

"No." She said, voice heavy with panic. "Not the hospital. Please. Just take me home. Not the hospital. Please." She rambled out and Dean took a second to shush her.

"Alright, alright. I'll take you home." He said and she closed her eyes again, relaxing into his grip. "But you've got to stay with me, no going to sleep." She nodded, barely, but her eyes stayed closed. The Impala rolled up the hill and stopped in front of Dean. Once Sam had opened the back door, Dean laid Lydia down as gently as possible and then climbed into the passenger side.

"Let's get back to her car, then I'll take it and her home." Sam nodded, pulling the Impala back onto the highway and heading back to where he'd left Lydia's Volkswagen.

Every few seconds of the drive, Dean's eyes would flit to the rear-view and he'd try to check on the girl laying in the back, when her breathing would start to slow, he'd shake her awake.

"You can't sleep. Not yet." He said, seeing her car up ahead. Lydia would mumble out a response, but any time she tried to keep her eyes open they would slip back down within seconds.

Dean transferred Lydia from the back of the Impala to the passenger seat of her car, taking the keys from Sam and her discarded heels from the floor of the Impala.

"I'll call you later." Dean said, before pulling out onto the highway and heading back to Santa Maria. Lydia was trying to stay awake. She sluggishly messed with the air, turning the A/C on full blast and then forced herself to sit up in the path of the air.

"How do I get to your place?" Dean asked.

"This is not exactly the situation I was imagining when I thought about you asking me that question." Lydia said, her voice slightly slurred. Dean smirked in spite of himself. "Head back on this road, turn left when you get to the cemetery." Her eyes slipped closed again and she shook her head as she forced them open.

Dean watched the road, feeling the adrenaline slip away slowly and leaving him exhausted and frustrated.

"I'm sorry." he heard her say weakly, almost a whisper.

"You could have died."

"I know."

"You weren't ready."

"I wanted to help." She sounded embarrassed, like a scolded child.

"This life is dangerous. You shouldn't be anywhere near it."

"I have all of this knowledge about folk lore. Are you telling me it's useless?" Dean cliched his teeth to keep from responding. She watched him out of the corner of her eye for a while but didn't push him. Once back in Santa Maria, Dean turned left when he'd been told to and followed that road for awhile longer, past the college.

"Turn right here." She said finally. "And then Left at the end of the street." After that, Dean pulled the car into the drive way of a small, wood paneled two story. Once parked, Lydia opened her door, attempting to walk to the front step but the second her foot touched ground she whimpered.

"Hold on." Dean said, rushing around the car to her side before picking her up again. "I've got you." She gave him a soft smile in return.

Once inside, Lydia insisted on rinsing the blood and dirt off in the shower, although Dean wanted to bandage her up first. He lost and sat at her small kitchen table looking around while the steam from the shower drifted out the open door and down the stairs. The house smelt like Lydia, lavender and clean laundry. The place felt warm with burgundy and cream splashed through out, black and white prints of different places across the globe decorated the walls and books piled on every surface. The water shut off upstairs and Dean stood, waiting for her to be ready. She stumbled down the stairs, struggling to put as little pressure on her feet as possible. Lydia wore a loose tank-top and shorts, her wet hair brushed back away from her face. With the dirt cleaned off of her, Dean could see the bruise forming at her hair line where the gash was, the thin scratches on her legs from the weeds.

She forced a smile and walked past him, pulling a water bottle from the frig and then painkillers from the cabinet. After taking them she pulled a first aid kit out of the same cabinet and went and sat down at the table in the full light. Dean didn't say anything, just clinched his jaw and started cleaning and bandaging the cut on her head. After her head, her moved to her feet, cleaning and wrapping them fully.

"Thank you." She said, tiredly. Dean swallowed the lecture he had building inside him. Pushing it down for another time, he meet her tired eyes.

"It's been a few hours now, you can probably sleep." He offered her his hand and then helped her back up the stairs to her room. She laid down and turned the bedside lap off, staring up at him where he sat beside her. She looked ready to drift off, but something shone in her eyes. Sharp and encompassing. She was still afraid.

"Will you stay?" She said. "You aren't the type to stay, I know that. But, this once, will you stay?" He watched her eyes for a few moments, the fear and the hope in them at he same time, swirling around each other.

He kicked off his boots and jacket and walked to the other side of the room before laying down beside her.


	17. Chapter 17

-Chapter 17-

It was still early when Lydia opened her eyes. She could see a sliver of light under her bedroom curtains, so she knew it was morning. Dean's slow, deep breathing next to her reminded her of the previous night. She couldn't have slept for more than a few hours, but she didn't feel like she'd would be able to drift off again. Glancing at Dean, Lydia watched his chest rise and fall. He'd slipped out of more of his clothes in the night, leaving his arms and legs bare but had stayed above the blankets. She smiled at this. She'd had sex with him on her desk at the library, but he'd kept a layer of blankets between them while she'd rested in near unconciousness.

Slowly, she moved to get out of bed. Partly she didn't want to wake Dean but also because she could feel the stiffness in her body and was afraid of the pain she knew was coming. Her feet touching the ground was her first problem, but it didn't seem as bad as she was expecting. While they were sore, she found that she could put pressure on them, at least enough to get downstairs. The walk to the kitchen was slow and she moved in stiff, disjointed steps but she made it. After starting coffee, Lydia began to carefully stretch out her tired body. From the feeling in her back and shoulders, she was bruised from the fence and her legs were sore and tired, but the stretching started to loosen her muscles and she found her movements becoming more fluid.

"How are you feeling?" The words made her jump, her heart racing in her chest painfully. "Easy, it's just me." Dean added. When she turned to look at him he had his hands up and open in surrender, eyes soft as he stared at her.

"Sorry." She said, hand to her stuttering heart. "Sore. But alive." She said. Meeting his eyes, tried to make him feel her thankfulness.

He didn't say anything but he padded across the kitchen and brought his hands to her head. One turned her chin while the other pushed back her hair. Leaning in, she could feel his hot breath on her cheek.

"Your head looks okay. Fence did a number on you though." Lydia nodded at him.

"Coffee?"

"Lydia." Dean was ignoring her offer, she could see the frustration in his eyes. "Hunting is dangerous. It's a death sentence." A heavy breath escaped her and she turned, pouring two cups of coffee and putting creamer in hers. She could feel his stare burning into the back of her head.

"I get it, Dean. I don't need a lecture."

"Oh yeah, because you didn't seem to think it was a problem when you decided to go running off all by yourself last night. You nearly died." There was something akin to guilt in Dean's eyes. Lydia could see it through the anger and the fear. She wanted to be made at him for yelling at her, for treating her like a child. But that guilt made his lecture quiet in her ears.

"It wouldn't have been your fault." She said softly. He stopped mid sentence and stared at her. "If I'd died, it wouldn't have been your fault."

Dean didn't say anything for a long time. He stood in front of Lydia, calming his breathing for long minutes, watching her. After a while, his jaw clenched for a moment, and he stepped closer to her. He put his hand to her cheek, brushing the pad of his thumb over her cheekbone. The touch was gentle, affectionate and Lydia leaned her face into his touch.

"Dean." She whispered.

"People die around me."

"People just die, it doesn't have anything to do with you." Dean shook his head at her, but his hand stayed on her face, fingers tangled in the hair at the base of her neck. Lydia felt warmth spread through her where his hand met her skin. It eased her sore muscles and she craved the contact. Closing the rest of the space between them, Lydia pressed her body against Dean, the warmth seeping into her. Dean wrapped his arms around her, holding her gently around her shoulders, but he held her as if he needed the contact as much as she did.

When she looked up at him, he pressed his lips to hers. It wasn't rough like the night before, only gentle and warm like the rest of his touch. He kissed her softly, both arms holding her to his chest. The care Lydia felt in the kiss swept her up and she leaned up further for more contact. But Dean pulled away.

"Ly, I-"

"I know. You're leaving. It's okay." She smiled, genuinely. He kissed her again, more passionately but still just as gentle, before taking her hand and pulling her back upstairs to her bed.


	18. Chapter 18

-Chapter 18-

Dean slid onto the bed above Lydia, and she wrapped her hands around his neck to pull his lips back to hers. His hands moved slowly over her skin, anywhere he could reach. Their clothes were discarded between the stairs and the bed, and each of them searched for comfort in the feeling of the other. Her hands slid down over his shoulders to his chest then around to his back, pulling him down to her so that his chest met hers. He slid his fingers down over her sternum to her stomach, then her hips. Each stroke of his hand left her panting. She pushed her body up towards him and he met her each time, leaving no space between them. His lips moved down her neck to her collarbone where he stopped for only a moment before trailing hot kisses down her breast. His fingers moved gently over her hip and Lydia gasped at the sensations.

"Dean," Lydia whimpered, pushing against him again. "Please." With his mouth still to her breast, he slid his hand down her hip to push her thighs apart. His fingers slid to her core and Lydia moaned, back arching and pushing his mouth tighter against her. The pressing of her sore back against the bed flashed pain across her mind Dean pulled away. Lydia pouted at the lose of him, but her heart fluttered at his concern. Carefully, she wrapped her legs around him and then rolled, placing her self astride him. Pressed against him once more she met his lips with hers, swallowing his moan as she slid herself against his length before sliding down around him.

Lydia gasped as she took him in, her body still as she adjusted to him. Dean propped himself up on his arm, the other pulling Lydia's mouth back to his. She rocked into him slowly, deliberately, and felt his grip on her neck tighten.

For each motion she made toward him, he would rise up to meet her. Their actions were slow and careful, drawing out as much pleasure as they could from each other. Lydia gripped at his muscled back for purchase as she felt herself start to tip. Her muscles tensed and as she lost control of herself, she could feel Dean's thrusts become stronger and more needing. Lydia's body shook with pleasure as she tumbled over the edge, She pressed herself into his chest, burying her face into his neck as her body trembled. He was panting against her, his hands fisted in her hair as he came with her.

Dean lowered them back onto the mattress and they stayed there, pressed together for awhile longer. Lydia tried to memorize the smell of leather and soap, the way his skin felt on hers. She took it all in because she knew that soon she would say goodbye to him. He'd leave and her life would never be the same.

She lay beside him a while longer, tucked against his side with his arm under her head. His free hand stroked her hair back away from her face.

"Where do you go now?" She asked him.

"I need to find a friend of mine. He's missing."

"I'm sure you'll find him."

"Going to keep working at the library now that you know how big the world is?"

"I haven't worked up enough courage to leave just yet." When the light under the window started to look more like late morning instead of dawn, Dean pulled away. Lydia didn't complain or ask him to stay longer. She helped him gather his clothes and he called his brother. When the engine rumbled downstairs she walked him to the door. Sam waved to her when she opened it and she waved back.

"Be safe, Dean." Lydia said, looking up at him. He pulled her close and kissed her one more time.

"You too, Ly. If anything comes up-"

"You'll be the first to know." She kissed him again. "I hope you find your friend." Dean kissed the top of her head and then headed for the car.


	19. Epilogue

-Epilogue-

Dean stared aimlessly out the window while Sam drove. He thought about Cas, and where he could be. He thought about had happened to Crowley. He thought about the darkness. But those thoughts didn't keep Lydia out of his mind. Each time he would try to think of something else he would smell the lavender left on his own skin from her and her bed and he would think about her.

"Hey!" Sam yelled suddenly. "Dean, are you listening?"

"Yeah, ask the Angels for help finding Cas. I heard you. But we can't. He's most likely on their permanent shit list this time."

"Well, I don't know what else we're going to do and your head doesn't seem to be in the game."

"I'm right here, Sam."

"No, you're back in the library."

"Come on, Sam. Seriously. I'm right here. Your plan is just stupid."

"Good." Sam said, but he didn't sound entirely convinced. Dean shook his head though, zeroing in his focus on coming up with a plan.

The door to the bunker groaned open and the boys, still talking about plans that showed little promise stepped back inside their home. As they came to the banister looking down into the bunker, Dean met a pair of blue eyes. They were rimmed in blood that dripped down his face to the collar of the tan trench-coat and he was doubled over in pain.

"Help me." Castiel's gravelly voice called to them.


End file.
